Questionmaster
by TheWestDriver
Summary: Players must answer a question with another question, or else they lose the game. Tyzula and Maiko with Maizula, Mailee, Tyluko, and Zucest on the side.


A/N: This features Tyzula and Maiko primarily, but also contains healthy doses of Mailee, Maizula, Tyluko, and Zucest.

Most of these little scenes come from random points in the storyline, but the ones at the end are from the episode "The Beach." I think if Avatar wasn't for children, the Fire Nation Four would have a seriously twisted relationship, and that's how I like to write them.

Please review if you liked it. Thanks!

xXx

**Questionmaster**

Azula treats the other young Fire Nation girls with a strange attitude, even for the violent young princess. The ones brave enough to admit their interests in her handsome brother are typically stupid, vain children with too much money and too much lipstick, but Azula treats them like something else entirely.

(When Mai and Ty Lee spot a classmate of theirs as potential suitor for Zuko, they run her off out of kindness. Better them than Azula, they reason.)

Azula treats the girls like her competition for a wonderful prize—a risk that must be eliminated by her ruthlessness and trickery. She treats them like a threat to her claim over Zuko, and when Azula is merciless, the entire world knows. The dead dog found on the school's lawn is a standing monument for his future love interests.

(It was then that Mai decided never to express her feelings. It was then Ty Lee decided to never disobey the princess.)

"I love you, Zuzu," she says. Through her lies, Zuko can see a twisted little fragment of truth, as warped as their father is cruel. She glides her fingertips across the back of her other hand, agonizingly slow, and Zuko swallows a hard lump in his throat.

"Do you love me too?"

xXx

The hands that glide through Mai's hair are graceful, but they part the coal-black locks with a certain awkwardness, an unfamiliarity with the act of brushing a friend's hair. Back straight, Mai does not offer Azula the pearly comb that sits before her on the maple table. She fears the sharpness of the comb's tips almost as much as she fears Azula's fingernails. The princess does not need any more sharp weapons in her arsenal.

"I suppose I can understand why Ty Lee likes doing this for you," Azula says offhandedly. She licks her lips and lets a single nail touch the sensitive skin of Mai's neck. Mai's eyebrows lift in nervous surprise, suppressing a shudder.

"It's not for you though, is it? It's for her."

Like a statue, Mai stares into the mirror, looking deeper and deeper into her own fearful eyes. She tries to harden her resolve, but Azula's fiery glance is full of passion and Mai finds herself intrigued.

Azula's rose-red lips turn up at the corners as she purrs, "I like this." She breathes into Mai's ear, "Are you afraid?"

(Mai feels like the victim of a sex crime. She likes it, she likes it _so _much.)

The taller girl feels her heart and eyelids flutter as she nods. "Shall I call Ty Lee? Would it make you feel better if she joined us?" Mai shakes her head. (Her hands clasp to prevent their shaking.) Azula's lips graze her ear, leaving a warmth and wetness. "Shall I call Zuko?"

"N-no," Mai rasps, amazed her voice came at all. "Don't call anyone."

Azula immediately pulls away from her body, a jarring movement that leaves Mai turning from her mirror in fear. The firebender tilts her head back and laughs in earnest, stopping only when Mai's cold eyes regard her with hatred.

"It's too easy to toy with you, Mai. At least Zuko squirms. And Ty Lee is so much fun to taunt, but you hardly say a word at all. You're so quiet when I ask you questions. You're too proud to beg like she does, aren't you?" Azula abruptly grabs her by the collar, lifting her from her chair, and forces her to the ground. "Though in my father's war councils we believe in silent assent."

A tiny noise escapes the stolid Mai, and Azula breathes deeply through her nose. Her grin becomes more feral as she commands, "Get on your knees."

xXx

"Are you lost or something?"

In the darkness of the palace when he is only twelve, it occurs to Zuko that Ty Lee has a lovely face. He is not one to fawn over girls, especially girls that spend time with Mai and his sister, but she is looking at him expectantly and he spends nearly a minute deciphering her eyes before he realizes she wants a human candle.

"I'm not lost," Ty Lee says. Her voice becomes small. "But it's dark."

A flame licks into existence, crackling and puny, and she steps closer to the light.

(Zuko knows that Mai shies away from fire.)

They walk down the hall together, surprisingly silent, and Zuko wonders if Ty Lee is really as entranced by his flame as she looks. He stops outside his sister's bedroom, assuming that Ty Lee wandered away from a slumber party, and furrows his brow at the younger girl.

Ty Lee whispers, "Why isn't yours blue?" He furrows his brow in anger and disbelief at the audacity of the pretty girl before him. Zuko suddenly feels like he shouldn't be alone with her, or that he should kiss her or something.

The moment passes like the fire in Zuko's palm, and Ty Lee straightens her back. They stand close together, eyes trained on his empty hand, breathing more heavily than they should. She leans forward, lips slightly parted. (He thinks it's wrong to feel this way. They're too young, but Zuko burns like the sun.) The prince leans forward to meet her.

A creak sounds and they sharply snap back into place.

"There you are, Ty Lee," says Azula. The little princess wears her pajamas, and from the hallway Zuko can see that Mai is also spending the night, as usual. He releases a shaky breath and hopes the girls don't notice the blush on his cheeks.

(But she knows what an eleven-year-old should never know.)

When Azula steps out of the door she smirks and pulls Ty Lee into her dark room. Fists tightened, Zuko stalks back to his bed in frustration.

xXx

"Isn't it nice to be back, Zuko?" asks Azula with a sticky-sweet smile on her face.

The room is full of tapestries, royal portraits, and red cushioned chairs of the Fire Nation palace. It is a room made for meetings in times of war, and dinner parties in times of peace. The room is big, almost cavernous, and Zuko finds that he dislikes the enormity of the space before him. If he had known Azula was here, he would have hidden in his bedroom.

(Only the crowned prince and princess are inside.)

He does not respond to her question. The way she stands at attention in her thin red robe reminds him of an Agni Kai. "Zuzu," she drawls. "It's rude to ignore me."

"I'm your brother, not a servant," he snaps. "I can ignore you if I like."

(How did she lure him here?)

Very quickly, Azula strides to the decorated door. The room is charged with invisible lightning, and Zuko finds he is afraid. Her mouth opens, parting her full lips. Azula's thick eyelashes close slightly, watching the ground almost innocently. Zuko knows better.

"How are things with Mai?"

A seething anger rises within him at the mention of Mai's name, and Zuko grits his teeth. He growls, "Fine, not that it's your business." Azula grins back, circling him like a vulture-fox; she reaches to lay a hand on his arm but he immediately recoils.

Her voice is flat, "You've touched her, haven't you? What did I tell you, Zuko, about my friends?" Zuko's breath comes in ragged bursts, but he doesn't answer. "They are _mine_ first, no matter what. They belong to _me,_ both Ty Lee and Mai. You may not continue touching my property-"

"I've never touched Ty Lee!" he suddenly yells. The echoes in the yawning room resound with the guiltiness in his voice. (The noise bounces around the skulls of the black-haired duo, and Azula revels in the fear. His confession makes her body ache.)

"Let me rearticulate my statement. You may not even _think _about touching Mai and Ty Lee. I'll know if you do, Zuko. I always know when you do," she tells him. Her eyes travel the unmarked side of his face. Azula softly says, "They would both have you, you know."

Her breath is warm on his face; blood pumps in his ears, threatening to burst out of his veins. Unprepared for his sister's closeness, Zuko takes a step back. She follows as if a chain connects them at the middle. After a long pause Azula says, "I've never had a man." Her fingers wind into his belt-loops like snakes.

(Like a whore. Surely he won't miss the opportunity.)

A moan escapes his lips, ghosting across her face, before Zuko forcefully pushes her away. The prince of the Fire Nation stumbles into the hallway, clumsily sprinting like a drunk to his own bedchambers. As he runs, the last thing Zuko sees in Azula's face is a look of lust and determination. He runs faster. Zuko runs so fast that he doesn't feel the tears leaking from his eyes.

Even though he's sixteen and hardened to the world like a diamond, Zuko cries until late in the night like he has never cried before.

xXx

The cell at the Boiling Rock is dank with smells of waterlogged hay and rotted wood. (The prisoners are not firebenders, so they can have flammable objects in the room.) Ty Lee rests her head on Mai's shoulder, legs strewn across the other girl's body, arms wrapped around her waist. The acrobat smiles slightly as Mai absently rubs little circles on her back. (It's soothing even though Mai is so prickly and grave.)

"Do you think we could ever escape?" asks Ty Lee.

"Do you think the world would show mercy if we did?" Mai cynically responds.

Ty Lee tightens her hold around Mai. "Zuko would," she says.

"Azula will kill him," Mai sharply says, bitterness filling every word. "She'll kill him when they fight, and what will become of us? She'll execute our families for our treason. That's the truth, Ty Lee, and we can't pretend the truth away."

Ty Lee reaches one hand up to Mai's mouth, gently pressing it against her blistered lips. "I'm sorry, Mai. I shouldn't have brought him up. Please don't say anything else. Not anything mean or anything nice or… or anything at all." From the closeness of their bodies, it is clear that Mai's eyes have begun to water.

Ty Lee takes her face between her hands and kisses her on both cheeks. "Let's pretend it's fine again, all right? We can still pretend," she whispers.

(Ty Lee is pretending Zuko doesn't exist. Mai is pretending Azula doesn't exist.)

Mai kisses her hard on the mouth, and they fall together to the stone floor.

xXx

She trails her long fingers down his scarred cheek, and smiles as she does it.

(Mai is into weird things, Zuko has learned.)

Mai's lips brush the disfigured skin and she presses against his muscular chest as she resituates in his lap. Zuko struggles to control his urges with the weight of her lithe body covering him, but he manages to chastely link their hands together as a substitute.

"How did you get sand in your hair?" Mai asks, pulling the grains out gently. "I hate sand."

He laughs without a sound, enjoying the way her form rises with his movements, and says, "That's what we get for going to the beach." Zuko kisses the knuckles of her hand and she coyly peeks at him from beneath her bangs. He kisses her chin lightly, making her smile more widely, and the prince finds that sometimes a cheerful Mai is still a good thing to have around.

She returns the favor, nipping gently at his neck and wrapping her arms more tightly around him. Buried in his chest she whispers, "You taste salty."

"You taste sweet," he replies. Mai swats lightly at his arm.

"That's because I don't go traipsing along in the ocean like a moron. Some people value cleanliness." Her eyebrows knit together as she gazes at him.

(That's enough. No more control from him, he decides.)

Zuko is tired of playing this game. He flips her on the sofa, pinning her to his body and to the cushions, and pushes her arms to her side. At first she heaves beneath him, trying to reach her daggers on impulse, but she stops when he speaks.

"I value other things." Shadows cover his face, his golden eyes, his scar. Mai quivers under his weight, but an impish smile returns.

(Zuko knows Mai well enough to know that she likes being dominated. Not all the time, but this time.)

"Show me," she breathes, and Zuko wastes no time. He pulls her back up into his lap, this time in a straddle, and places his hands on the side of her thighs. Though she is on top, he issues the orders. For a second, Mai's thoughts flash to Azula. (So wrong, so sick, so good.) She pushes the memories away with all her might, focusing instead on Zuko's gentle fingertips. She thinks of Ty Lee. (All tender and thoughtful and exciting.) Mai pushes her body deeper into his.

He fixes his eyes to hers, and glides his hands to her waist. "I'm all salty. Can you live with that?" If she didn't know better, Mai would think Zuko is trying to be funny.

She leans into him, "I think I'll survive this one time."

xXx

"Why are you doing this?" asks Ty Lee. She pulls her arms through the pink sleeves of her shirt, covering her otherwise naked form. Azula doesn't bother, and lounges instead on the lush pillows of her bed.

A twinge of displeasure crosses her face, "You don't enjoy it?"

"No!" Ty Lee immediately jumps to her side, "It's not that at all. I do, Azula, you know I do." Brown eyes watch as Azula's fingers trail along the fringe of her trimmed shirt. "It's just… I know you'll tell Mai and she'll tell Zuko, and I just don't want to upset them, that's all."

Suddenly, the shirt twists in her clutch, wrapping tightly around Ty Lee's neck. The fabric chokes her quickly and her eyes well with tears as Azula stares down at her lividly. She looks even more upset than the time the Avatar escaped from the Drill, and Mai and Ty Lee were lashed for failure.

"You're embarrassed to be with me, aren't you? You think it's disgraceful," Azula accuses her. Ty Lee tries to shake her head, but the shirt constricts her movements. Her attacker releases her hold slightly, enough for Ty Lee to speak again. She gasps, "No, princess. I'm proud to be yours."

A sneer of confusion crosses Azula's mouth, but it passes as she lets go of Ty Lee's shirt. Instead, she places her palm on Ty Lee, fingers splayed between her breasts, and bends lower to kiss her. Her lips find the teary tracks on Ty Lee's face, and kiss them away.

(Finally, her sweetness and her kindness show. Ty Lee hugs her tightly, as if to retain the side of Azula that she loves.)

Speaking with reverence, Ty Lee says, "I want it to be just us, that's all. I want you to be mine a little bit, so that we can be even. I'm already yours."

For a moment, Azula keeps still. Ty Lee's heart leaps at the prospect that she might finally understand her feelings, her desire for acceptance. She might be loved in return.

The princess murmurs, "That's a silly thing to say, Ty Lee. You know I don't belong to anyone." The acrobat's face falls. "Let me explain it in a way you'll understand. This is a military game. I am the Fire Nation. You are the Air Nomads. You have belonged to me since the start, and there isn't a thing that can change it." Ty Lee's lower lip trembles. "Mai is the Water Tribe, defiant and cold, but she's fallen to me as well." A sob wavers from Ty Lee, feeling the weight of Azula's words for the first time. "Zuko is the Earth Kingdom. He is stubborn and will fight me to the end, but I will win. You know that, Ty Lee. You have always known what it means to be mine."

Through Ty Lee's weeping, Azula licks the exposed throat beneath her. Nails dig into Ty Lee's arms, an exquisite pain.

(This is like global conquest, but the benefits are better. They are direct and tangible.)

"Never come close to saying you love me, Ty Lee," Azula says. "Never again." She pushes her roughly off the bed, hearing her knees thud against the wooden floor. Azula leans back into her bright pillows, relaxing her arms behind her head.

"Now get out of my room."

xXx

Zuko pulls his hand from underneath Mai's shawl so quickly that it rips along the seam, and she rolls from on top of him just as rapidly. They pant in fear of discovery, lips swollen and pink, and face Azula's door with a matching look of anguish.

They breathe a sigh of relief when Ty Lee comes out of the room, crying. Mai rises to her feet without a second's pause. "What's wrong?" The short girl only shakes her head, trying to exit the living room as quickly as she can.

(Dynamics change, the pairs switch.)

xXx

Mai chases Ty Lee outside. When she catches her friend, her arms become a cradle and she rocks the sorrowful child in her embrace. Mai does not question her tears (she doesn't need to ask.) She becomes of mother of comfort, a lady of mercy, and her sympathy allows them to cry together in the sand.

Zuko goes to Azula, who has thrown a thin red robe over herself. Voices raise like a battle-cry and he shoves her roughly against a wall. Zuko does not question her laughter (he doesn't need to ask.) He becomes a righteous defender of the weak, a dealer of justice, and he clutches the burning wrath in his fist.

They waltz further apart and closer together in a spinning orbit, all alone despite their company. Tomorrow it may be different, but for now their game continues, and the four of them realize that some questions do not have answers.

xXx


End file.
